Product description

When an appalling and seemingly inexplicable murder shattered the peace of a quiet English suburban street it revealed the extent to which organised crime has now seeped into our lives, often without our knowledge. In his groundbreaking book Misha Glenny takes us on a journey through the new world of international organised crime, from gun runners in Ukraine to money launderers in Dubai, by way of drug syndicates in Canada and cyber criminals in Brazil. During his investigation into the dark side he spoke to countless gangsters, policemen and victims of organised crime, while also exploring the ferocious consumer demands for drugs, trafficked women, illegal labour and arms across five continents. This constantly riveting account unveils the nature of crime in today's world but it also offers profound insights into the pitfalls of globalisation where the rules dividing the legal from the illegal are often far from clear.

Author information

Misha Glenny is a distinguished journalist and historian. As the Central Europe Correspondent first for The Guardian and then for the BBC, he chronicled the collapse of communism and the wars in the former Yugoslavia. He has won several major awards for his work, including the Sony Gold Award for outstanding contribution to broadcasting. The author of three books on Eastern Europe and the Balkans, he has been regularly consulted by the US and European governments on major policy issues and ran an NGO for three years, aiding the reconstruction of Serbia, Macedonia and Kosovo. He now lives in London.

Review quote

"Like a journalistic Indiana Jones he has travelled the world in search of his prey, displaying impressive stamina, intellectual chutzpah and physical bravery on the way... This is the most important non-fiction book of the year so far - organised crime's version of Fast Food Nation" Mail on Sunday "To be regarded as one of the essential non-fiction works of our time. Exhaustively researched and reported, it's sobering in the extreme, but also riveting, filled with exotic locations, staggering facts, acts of incredible brutality and colourful, if deadly, characters... Anyone with even the smallest interest in how the world really works should read this book" GQ "The great merit of Glenny's book is that it does not just chronicle the foul deeds of international crime syndicates. It probes the imbalances and injustices that propel people and nations towards criminal behaviour... This, racy, well-researched and highly entertaining book should be essential reading for law reformers everywhere" Irish Times "His message is that the global marketplace has empowered criminals on a huge and terrifying scale... He tells a grisly story very well... A pacey, riveting, eye-opening account" Sunday Times "This is a big, noble book by a proper reporter who travels the world and gives the Mr Bigs of global crime a poke in the eye... uncomfortable but compelling reading... You must read it" Literary Review